I'm guessing Apple is getting desperate, since its software patent lawsuits aren't doing particularly well. Moving on from software and design patents, the company is now suing Samsung over... Patents for mobile phone and tablet cases (more at The Verge). I think Apple has more offensive lawsuits than products now, so technically, "patent maker" is more accurate than "gadget maker" or "device maker". Fun times.

The only thing that allowed the human race to survive in spite of having a horrifically weak body is tools forged from its intelligence, what you call technology. This is why it is the big deal.

Global crises everywhere, so what ? We can do nothing about them crazy traders, and they are much more the expression of a financial system gone horribly wrong than any consequence of technological evolution. Meanwhile, at my scale, I am happy to have fun creating stuff that make my life and that of others a little easier, and contrary to what you seem to think it doesn't prevent me to have a social life.